Sabbat Rising
by Forsaken and Darklost
Summary: Robin is thrown through a moment of turmoil and despair. His whole comes crashing around him, but someone was there to catch him and tries to help repair the pieces...but is it too late? Demonic Boy Wonder and darker Raven. Robin/Raven pairing.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or material relating to Ame Raven fandom. **

**A/N: **Evening or morning to you all. This is Darklost (not to be confused with Forsaken). This is one of _MY_ own pieces. For those of you who still haven't figured it out. We're two writers sharing the same account. Hence why we're called Forsaken _AND_ Darklost. I just wanted to clear that up as everyone keeps pestering Forsaken about why he isn't working on his other fanfictions. He is! He's really busy and is trying to get them out for you guys, so give him a break, okay? Yeah, those that have PMed and gotten replies, some really blunt ones...those were from me! I filter through the PMs and only let him read the ones that I think are worth his time. So if you don't like what I say, then think twice about what you wanna say, because I am very direct where's he tries to 'diplomatic'. I won't be. If I think you're wasting our time, I will tell you and what you can do with your comments.

I'm not saying this stuff to scare you guys away. I'm just being honest because we get A LOT of rude people PMing us all the time and complaining about stuff, even after Forsaken has already explained why. That's why I'm taking over screening his PMs so he doesn't have to waste his time anymore with pointless messages. You'll get your chapters, just give him a break, okay?

All right, now that I've said my piece. Let's get on with this story, huh?

**xXx**

**Sabbat Rising**

**Chapter 1**

It was supposed to be a fun patrol for himself and Starfire. They were going to just go do a quick routine check on the city, make sure no one was causing trouble. Then they were going to go on a date out to the Fairgrounds. Starfire had been the one to suggest they split up so they can cover more ground quickly, but he should have known better. She had been playing him, this entire time. He had finished his part of the patrol early and thought to surprise her by finding her and helping with her part of the patrol. Strangely, she wasn't anywhere in her assigned position. He started to get worried when there was no sign of her, thinking something might have happened to her.

So naturally, he activated the tracker app on his T-Com to see if her's was still active. He was relieved to find that it was. Following the signal, he tracked her…to the Fairgrounds. At first, he thought maybe she had finished her patrol and wanted to meet him there. They did agree to meet at the Fairgrounds after they were done, but then again that was also after they informed the other that they were done. Obviously, she thought he would call ahead and let her know he was done. Or else, he wouldn't have caught her in the arms of Speedy, who was in the process of getting his tongue down as far as he could into her mouth, while copping a feel of her chest on top of the Ferris wheel.

Once more he gave her the benefit of the doubt, thinking Speedy was forcing himself on her and she was being too timid to hurt a fellow Titan. What a foolish thought that was on his part. He stared from a distance with his binoculars at them, finding himself unable to do anything else but watch them make out. He waited and waited, for any sign that Starfire was reluctant with Speedy. He found none…

When they finally stopped making out, the blow to his heart almost ripped it asunder when he saw Starfire start to giggle and hug Speedy…just before she bent down over Speedy's lap and in moments her head started bobbing up and down. Speedy had a cocky grin on his face and encouraged her with holding the back of her head and helping it along with her ministrations.

At that point, Robin dropped his binoculars, not caring that it fell and shattered on the street. He left it there as he continued to stare at the top of the Ferris wheel, feeling himself losing touch with the world around him. He didn't move for a while and looked almost like he petrified there on the spot. Then he shifted his head downward. He was too sharp to allow himself to be fooled by any kind lie he could make up for himself. His girlfriend cheated on him, plain and simple. There was no telling how long this had been going on…or how far their relationship had reached. Judging by how hard Starfire was working Speedy; it was pretty fucking plain to see just how close they were.

He couldn't be there anymore, even if he couldn't see them, he knew how it would finish. Turning away from them, Robin exited the Fairgrounds and headed out aimlessly back into the city. He couldn't go back to the Tower, not in the state he was in now. There was no telling what he would do if he returned and was confronted with the others. The best he could do was give himself some time to get over the shock. After which, he would know how to handle this new turn of events better.

As soon as he was close enough to the nearest tall building, Robin used his grappler to yank himself up to its top. When his feet touched the ground, he was moving, running to the far edge and then launching himself without care for his safety off. Once he was within range, he grappled the next building nearby and swung to the next, then grappled and swung, trying to go faster. He tried to go as fast as he could, not caring how sharp the cold wind was biting into him. The pain helped some to distract him from his shattered heart. His mind kept wandering to why this had happened. Did he do something to ruin the relationship? Was he just not good enough? Was she going behind his back to be with Speedy, because she was afraid of hurting his feelings…or was it that she didn't care?

He wanted to scream out and he almost did, until his T-Com went off. He almost didn't answer it, thinking it was Starfire calling him to say she was 'finished'. But it might have been someone else and he couldn't take that chance to ignore it. Jerking it out of his Utility Belt, Robin flipped open his T-Com and tried not to growl into it. "Robin, here…"

To his relief, it was Raven's voice that came through. "Robin, we just picked up a police distress call. The Hive Five have just been sighted and are on the loose. They were last seen near uptown…uh, are you okay?" Her void-expression perked up with the hint of concern when she noted Robin hadn't reacted at all to the news.

"Huh? Right, Hive Five…got it. I'm already near that location. I'll head out and see if I can slow them down until you guys get here," Robin replied distantly.

Raven tried to ask what the matter was, but he closed his T-Com and he corrected his course, heading in the direction of uptown. At the velocity he was going, near reckless even for him, he soon reached his destination. First thing he looked for were obvious signs of disturbances, like smoke or sounds of battle, but then remembering where he was, he assumed he knew the Hive Five's target: Jump City's Museum of History. For some reason, those evil-students of mayhem loved attacked that place. The artifacts in the museum must be too tempting a target for them to resist. They could get a pretty penny for just a handful from the artifacts on the Black Market.

As it was, he was right. As he landed on top of the museum and peeked in through the sky window, he saw the Hive Five at work at robbing the place, with a new addition to replace one temporary member that used to run with their crew. That being Jinx before she turned for a new leaf and joined the Teen Titans. Her replacement was Kyd Wykkyd. Leading the Hive Five was its two new leaders, Dr. Light and Psimon, and of course with them were Mammoth and Gizmo. Robin had to play it smart as he was going in solo. Psimon could disable him with a simple psychic attack. Dr. Light was a handful with his range of energy manipulating tech and was a challenge for the whole team. The other three were easy to take on separately, but as a group, they were a threat and all three knew how to work as a team.

His best bet was actually to wait for the rest of his team to arrive, but that would mean Starfire would be coming too…

His lips snarled as a fit of rage overtook him. He could just see it now. Starfire arriving acting as if everything was still the same, and miraculously Speedy was in town and came along to help deal with the threat. Both of them inwardly laughing at his naivety as they dispatched the Hive Five, and then no doubt Starfire would make up some excuse to be alone afterwards so she and Speedy could have more alone time…leaving him supposedly clueless.

His anger was getting the better of him and he almost decided to leave caution to the wind and storm the museum himself. What stopped him was a sudden scream from below. Jerking his head to the scream, Robin saw two civilians had been trapped inside the museum, a mother and a little girl, maybe nine years old from the looks of her. Mammoth had caught them hiding behind one of the displays, smashing it to the side to scare them. Robin reached instinctively into one of his utility belt pouches for a handful of smoke pellets. He had to act fast now.

But just as he was going to unlatch the sky-window, he witnessed something he never thought he'd see.

Mammoth was known to be reckless and cared little for anything around him. He smashed more than he talked…or did anything. But what he did was a new low turn, even by him. After smashing away the display, Mammoth then suddenly back swiped with his fast at the little child who was crying, knocking her away from her mother and sending her crashing against the wall. Even from up on the roof, Robin heard the definite sound of bones breaking and the smear of blood that now coated the wall where the child's body slid down from the wall, lying motionless on the floor.

Robin froze.

His eyes remained locked on the little girl's body, but not for long. The mother's screams soon drew his attention back to her. Just in time to see Gizmo using one of his spider-like cyber appendage to walk over her…and then stab one of them through the woman's head to silence her, forever. He saw their mouths moving, but he was too high to hear them talk. He didn't need to really. He had learned to read lips.

_Man, she was loud! Fucking bitch shoulda kept a cork in her flapping mouth!_ Gizmo's lips read.

_Bah, I'd have corked her mouth if you hadn't killed her like that! Bitch had a sweet body, coulda have fun making her scream a bit more while impaling her myself, _Mammoth snickered sadistically.

The two Hive students laughed maliciously over the dead woman's body, at the same time putting the two at a whole new level of villainy. All of this witnessed by Robin, but rather being filled with horror and guilt…Robin's vision was blinded with rage. Forsaking stealth, Robin's body moved on its own and he dove down, shattering through the sky window and letting a roar that was almost more primal than human. His mind did not register any real rational thought. Already he had been walking on the edge of a razor with his sanity when he learned of the emotional betray from his alien girlfriend.

That was hard enough and then seeing two civilians killed so coldheartedly; that had been too much for him to bear. His mind how shattered over the traumatic loss, both his trust and love and the loss of two innocents. It was just too much. He dove straight for Mammoth, forsaking smoke pellets in favor of a Birdarang. His hand whipped it out just as Mammoth looked up in alarm at his angry approach. As he did, Robin's Birdarang was already flying out of his head and the bladed boomerang sliced Mammoth's face, more precisely, right into his right eye, gorging it out.

Not expecting such a vicious attack, especially from an enraged Boy Wonder, Mammoth instinctively raised his hands up to his wounded eyes, roaring in pain. Robin capitalized on that moment as he landed on the larger teen's shoulders and took out two more Birdarangs and slammed them together, forming his R-Sword. Holding it downward, Robin posed the end of the sword at the base of Mammoth's neck. Without hesitating at all, Robin plunged the sword deep into the exposed flesh. Mammoth's whole body froze as the blade shot through bone and flesh, slicing out just above the giant teen's collarbone.

He was dead in an instant.

Before his great bulk could fall down to start getting cold on the floor, Robin leapt off the corpse and landed next to Gizmo, who started freaking out.

"W-What the fuck, man!?" Gizmo cursed. "Y-You just killed him!"

Robin didn't reply, his cape had folded over him and where he fell, the shadows completely covered him. The only think that could be seen was the white of his domino mask and had anyone seen him in that moment, they would have seen a far scarier image than Batman himself could have imposed. What with his sword still in hand, dripping fresh blood off its edge as it hovered just an inch from the floor. His glare was locked on the miniature genius and not even his mask could hide the raw hate radiating out of them at the villain.

He made no response as he started taking slow steps toward Gizmo.

"H-Hey! Stay back! I'm warning you!" Gizmo uttered as he backed away in fright. Unintentionally, one of his spider-legs had pierced through the flesh of the little girl as Gizmo almost slammed his back against the wall.

Robin's eyes widened in reaction at that. He looked at the little girl and saw not a single reaction from the child. It should have send her screaming awake in pain at being stabbed, but since she remained unmoving on the floor, in the middle of her own blood. It just confirmed to what part of Robin's rational mind that was trying to regain control…that the girl was truly dead. That observation paused the rational side, no longer caring what would happen next and let the dark rage that had moved him to kill Mammoth proceed toward Gizmo.

"S-Stay back!" Gizmo screamed and tried to swiped at him with one of his spider-legs.

Reacting at the attack, Robin ducked down and slashed upward at the first joint of the cybernetic appendage. His sword was sharper than a razor and easily cut through the metal leg, severing it from the rest of its limb. Gizmo freaked and tried to pulled out a more formidable weapon from his arsenal to attack, but he was too scared. Robin moved like lightning after cutting the leg. He dashed forward, grabbing the falling piece of leg and turned it so its pointed end was posed to strike Gizmo. The sharp end impaled the evil, little genius, going completely through his tiny body and stabbing into the wall behind him, trapping him there like a bug in a display case.

It was only then, after his blood, gurgling screams that the other members of the Hive Five realized that something was amiss. Psimon turned to the cause and was actually surprised to see the Boy Wonder standing over two dead teammates. Not letting the surprise late long, Psimon sent a psychic probe to raid the Titan leader's mind and render him helpless. Yet, when his probe tried to drill into the teen's mind, it was met with resistance.

"What?" Psimon uttered in further shock.

Dr. Light, noting his partner's plight, stared at Robin. "Why is he resisting your psychic powers?"

It only took a moment for Psimon to make a conclusion. "Turmoil. His mind is rapidly shattering over too much emotional trauma. Something triggered the breakdown, but probably seeing those two fools kill those civilians was too much for his mind to deal with. I'll need to make physical contact if my powers are going to have any effect on him."

Dr. Light charged up his gauntlets. "Easily done…Kyd Wykkyd…Kyd?"

The teleporting shadowy teen was nowhere to be seen. Having seen two of his classmates dispatched by the Boy Wonder, he knew it was a totally knew playing field and he wasn't going to risk his life, not when he knew he was really nothing more than cannon fodder, so he slipped out when the going was good.

"Little bastard…" Dr. Light hissed, making a note to make the kid pay for running out on them. This was made the second attempt of forming the perfect Hive Five team a failure. "This keeps up, there won't be any point to using a five-man group!"

"I concur…but having numbers is essential-!" Psimon had to end his speech so he could float to the side to avoid being stabbed in the guy by Robin. The boy was on auto-pilot and it was set on overkill. Such a uncertain behavior from a skilled fighter was too much of a risk to take. The odds kept showing unfavorably for him. "Dr. Light. As it seems the situation has turned for the worst. Retreat. There is no point in this simple robbery anymore, not with our current losses."

"This has been another wasted night, but maybe all isn't lost," Dr. Light smirked, looking at the dead bodies of Mammoth and Gizmo, then at the security cameras. He hadn't bothered to deactivate them, feeling that had the entire team of titans showed up, their combined efforts would have been enough to repel them. At least that was the theory. But now, it may have proven all the better that things went as they did. After all, who would trust a hero after being caught on film killing two people? The irony was enough to actually make tonight's loss bearable.

Psimon quickly read his partner's thoughts and agreed. What Robin had done had sealed his fate forever and nothing was going to fix that. The boy's days as a hero were over. Now soon, he would be just a vigilante with blood on his hands. Hunted down by the law and order he had sworn to protect. It was poetic irony at its best. He hovered over to Dr. Light and placed his hand on his partner's shoulders and teleported them out of the museum, leaving Robin with the mess.

Robin stopped moving when they disappeared. Now with no one to fight, his mind was starting to register exactly what he had done. In his current state, his mind began to play against him, his guilt turning into a literal voice in his head. _You let this happen, you realize? You let yourself be deceived by that redhead hottie. You thought you were enough of her? You are hardly a man! Now look what you allowed to happen. You let that woman and her girl die right in front of you and you couldn't stop it. You are weak. WEAK! You should have been stronger! Faster! You should have been able to save them! You are nothing but a pathetic weakling! _

Robin clutched at his hurting head, screaming out madly. "It wasn't my fault! I didn't mean for this to happen!"

_Don't try and deny it! You knew you couldn't do anything because deep down you know you're weak, useless! You are just a powerless, little boy playing hero! _The voice spat back instantly.

"No! I'm not powerless. I've trained…I've worked hard to stop criminals from hurting the innocent!"

_And yet, that woman and little girl are dead on the floor at your feet. Starfire is probably letting Speedy fuck her right up the ass and both are laughing about how stupid you are. You haven't even gotten that far with her. Shows what kind of man Speedy is…the better one!_

Robin roared. "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"

_I won't. You know it's all true. You are USELESS! That's why you killed Mammoth and Gizmo. You realized you were too weak, so you killed them so they couldn't boast to their Hive students that you were._

Was that why he killed them? "Oh god…" Robin uttered as the full realization of what he had done dawned on him and he looked at the two dead villain's corpses. "W-What have I done?"

_You slaughtered them. In cold-blood…and you enjoyed it, too…_

"I-I!" Robin stammered and started to back away from the grisly deed. "I didn't mean to!"

_Doesn't matter if you did or didn't. They're dead and you were the one to kill them. What does that mean for you? Heh, heh, the same fate you had accused to all villains, jail. You murdered them and the world does not take kindly to killers. Your teammates sure won't. Fuck, I bet this is the opportunity Starfire and Speedy are waiting for to get rid of you! You just provided them the means to get away with her dumping YOU, and blaming you for the break up so she can go suck on Speedy's arrow all she wants now._

"NO! NOO!" Robin said and once more his mind snapped as his mind played out that scenario and worse. "They want to get rid of me! Fine! I'll make them work for it! I'm not going down so easy!"

_How? You are weak, a loser. A powerless fallen hero. Against their powers, you'll go down soon enough…if only you actually could…_

Robin's frantic mind suddenly came up with a crazy idea, one that only a broken mind like his could come up with. "Powerless? No…no, I know how to get power! I'll show I'm not weak!"

_….I doubt it_ taunted the voice one last night.

Robin now with a mission, deranged as it was, fled the sight, putting the dead bodies behind him. They were no longer important anymore. What was important was proving he wasn't weak. He didn't kill them for any petty reason. They had murdered in cold blood! They deserved their fate. That was how his mind was turning. His entire moral code was shattering along with his mind, and so what? It was being replaced with something that made more sense. Why shouldn't he kill those that regarded all life so little? It would be so much simpler to just kill them than waste time putting them into jail. All they ended up doing was escaping and then ruining more lives. They all should be put down! Yes, that was the right way!

He dashed out of the museum, grappling to the roof and then hurrying his way back to Titans Tower, taking an alternate route. He couldn't take the chances of them finding him yet. He wasn't going to stand there and let Starfire laugh at him in secret as she pretended to be his concerned girlfriend, no! He wouldn't be treated like a fool anymore. They would see. All of them would see as soon as he accomplished his goal. Robin would show the world he wasn't a fool anymore.

Making as much haste as he could, swinging from building to building, back to where he parked his R-Cycle before he began his initial patrol with Starfire. He revved it up and tore through the streets back to Titans Tower, knowing he only had a certain amount of time before the others learned what he did. He lucked out as no one tried calling him yet on the T-Com when he first arrived to the tower. Counting that in his favor, he quickly ran up to the Living Quarters….and went straight to Raven's room. He easily bypassed Raven's locked door, using a skeleton key code that he had secretly installed in all the tower's security. After Slade had gained access to the tower after Terra's betrayal, he had seen fit to take some safety measures of his own.

Entering Raven's room he went straight to her bookshelf and started grabbing whatever he could. Taking them to his room, he quickly dumped them on his bed, and then went back to Raven's room to grab her ingredients that she used for her spell craft. He wasn't sure what he would need, so he made a point to take at least one of everything he could find. Going back to his room, he placed the ingredients on his bed alongside the books, and then grabbed a book on top of the pile. It paid to be a speed reader, even if he didn't understand all the glyphs and ancient language he saw written down.

He skimmed through what he could, then went for the next book. In his feverish state, he had no idea how much he was absorbing as he read. Nothing looked understand but he had hope that he would find something that could solve his dilemma. His answer was soon found after throwing the second book away and picking up the third. The language in it was old Latin and that he could read. It talked about devils and elementals and things that he never would have imagined. He wondered what Raven really could do if she actually wanted to with all the stuff he learned from reading just this one book. No matter, he soon found what he was hoping to find.

"There it is! The answer!" Robin said insanely.

He placed the book down and then quickly went over to the ingredients that he had read he would need for the spell. Setting up a circle as the instructions had shown, he soon was standing in the center of it with the book in hand, and a dagger in the other.

"I'll show them…I-I'm not weak!" Robin muttered to himself as he re-read the spell he was about to implement to make sure he had done it right. "I'll be more than anything of them could hope to be!"

If a part of his mind that could have stopped this crazed teenager that once was a Boy Wonder, it remained silent. Whether it was his guilt or insanity that continued to drive him, he proceeded with his work. Reading what he needed, he threw the book away and then raised the dagger up, and then he began speaking the words that he read from the spell. It was strange as he did. They came out hoarse and hollow and even though he knew what he was saying, he could not understand what he was saying as they escaped passed his lips.

Raising the dagger up, he continued casting the spell, the room began to grow darker as he did. Slowly, he lowered the dagger and with its tip, he cut into the center of his opened palm, letting blood pool into his head. "I summon thee…ancient power of the abyss! I offer my blood to call you forth to answer my plea!" Bending down, he poured his blood into a silver bowl that waited at his feet. As the blood touched the bowl, it began to glow with a dark light, revealing that the magic he was casting was taking affect.

It seemed he was doing it correctly…but then things began to go wrong.

The protective circle he made suddenly burst into black flames, burning into the floor. The room started to get stuffy and felt as if all the air was sucked out. Robin felt himself starting to choke as smoke filled the room and he fell to his knees. "W-What's happening?"

A darkness started to fill the room and it slowly crawled toward Robin, moving like oil as it creeped toward him. He had messed something up! This wasn't supposed to happen. A deity was supposed to answer his call and present itself to him, not this inky darkness. Something had answered him and it was coming to take him away. That was the feeling he got. It knew his mistake and it was here to take advantage of that. The creature that had come forth began to work its way over Robin's feet. As soon as it touched his feet, Robin felt his energy started to rapidly drain. The inky substance was robbing him of his soul, pulling it down into the mass.

Robin started screaming, realizing he had brought on his own doom. It was too late, though. No one would come save him. Why should they? He just killed two people. His girlfriend was cheating on him with his best friend. Everything was working out for them. He would be gone and the world wouldn't care. Justice, even if it was a dark, twisted kind of justice, had come to claim him, and he had done it to himself. He only had his own failure to blame. Everything was coming full circle it seemed.

Then out of nowhere, something started to happen. From above a dark light started to descend over him. Where it touched, the inky darkness hissed and began to retreat as it felt itself being repelled by the light. Then a voice, a softer, more feminine voice began to speak in his mind. _**You're a curious one, my little Robin. Had I not come along. You would have died. You made a poor protection barrier. Any powerful demon or devil could have easily broken through it and gobbled up your soul…like one almost did.**_

"Y-You know me?" Robin spoke in fright.

_**Yes, I know you, Robin…or a version of you, I should say. I have been watching you…I've seen your suffering. You should have had timed to grieve, get over the shock. I know what you are thinking, too. You are tired of being weak, aren't you? I understand that feeling, more than anyone. So I've come to offer you your desire, Robin…I've come to fix everything.**_

Suddenly an outline of a girl appeared before Robin, taking on a silhouette that seemed awfully familiar to him. She raised a shadowy hand to him.

_**If you're willing to accept my deal, then take my hand…but remember. Everything comes at a price, Robin. Are you willing to risk it?**_

Without hesitation, no regard for what may happen, Robin's hand shot out and he grasped it around the shadow's hand, surprised to actually feel it was solid. The shadow giggled and them burst into white light, blinding Robin and engulfing him completely. He passed out from the sudden rush of energy that started so swell up inside him and he knew nothing more.

Until he heard a rapid series of knocking, and the sound of someone pleading out his name.

"..obin! ROBIN!" the voice started to get stronger.

He couldn't respond. His entire body ached like it never did before, not even after the toughest of training sessions. What had he done to himself to make him this tired and sore? He couldn't remember, why was that? Suddenly the sound of bending metal filled his room.

"Robin, oh no!" the voice from before cried and he felt delicate small hands touched his back. They shook him lightly and then a sigh of relief came when he moaned at the action. "You're still alive…I'm…glad."

The hesitant response to her own feelings made Robin realize who it was. "Raven?"

"I'm here! I just came back from the museum. Azar, I don't know what happened, but…but we found Mammoth and Gizmo dead…and…"

"Two others…" Robin finished.

Raven widened her eyes. "You know? So you did go there. What happened?"

_**"I think I best answer that!" **_ A feminine voice said out of Robin's mouth. He slowly started to pick himself and Raven pulled herself away from him in shock.

"Who are you? What have you done to Robin?!" Raven demanded, her eyes glowing as she readied her powers.

_**"Believe what you will…I'm the only thing keeping Robin sane and alive at this moment," **_the voice said through Robin, tilting his hips in a manner that seemed to feminine for the Boy wonder to do. _**"He had a really BAD night…"**_

"Better tell me who you are and how you got inside Robin, now!" Raven stated forcefully.

The deity within Robin raised his hands up to his mask and slowly started to pull it off. Exposing at first what Raven thought was going to be his real identity, but then she froze when she saw a pair of golden eyes. Robin sighed and stretched his body, and as he did…it started shifting. His waist became slimmer and his chest changed, growing a bust. The leg looked smoother and thicker with muscles as the hips became curvier. In an instant a female version of Robin stood before Raven and she giggled contently.

_**"Mmm, that's better. Not that he didn't have a nice body, its just nicer to be in one I'm more familiar with," **_the fem-Robin stated and giggled once more.

"How did this happen?" Raven said.

_**"He learned something that shouldn't have happened to him. Something that wounded him deeply in both heart and mind. I'll go into details about that in a moment, but what you should know is that he nearly killed himself. What with calling a deity to give him powers and all," **_ fem-Robin stated.

"Robin was trying to get powers? Wait!" Raven looked around and then noticed all her books and items littered about the room. "…What the hell was he thinking?"

_**"He wasn't thinking, that was the problem. After what happened to him last night, his mind completely snapped…and led down a course that he wouldn't have taken if he were in his right mind. Sadly, it happened and had I not been there, his soul would be filling the gut of a demon right now," **_fem-Robin stated plainly.

"You mean, he saw what happened, who killed those people?" Raven whispered in horror. It wasn't a pretty sight. Her and the rest of the Titans were extremely horrified by the carnage they found waiting for them. It was hard to believe that Mammoth and Gizmo were dead, but it was even a real shock to the see the state of the woman and the daughter's body. That part she could understand why Robin's mind might have snapped.

But then she thought about the stranger deity's words more and then remembering the state of the two dead villains were in, they looked like someone had killed them quick and easy...and then a thought dawned in Raven and her eyes started to widen in horror. "No…no, Robin couldn't have…"

"_**As I said, if he had been in his thinking…but sadly, our little Robin had been through a ringer!"**_ the fem-Robin stated, reaching up to feel her gelled-spiky hair. _**"How the hell does he stand this much gel in his hair? Hmm, I guess it helps keep it outta his face when fighting…he really should just grow it long and pull it back into a ponytail." **_ She then smirked and snapped her fingers. Instantly, the spiky locks started to grow out and down to almost reaching her ass, high-lighting with a touch of crimson. _**"Ah, see? Much more appealing…"**_

Raven glared at the deity. "Stop messing with his body!"

"_**Oh, come on. I know you wanted to see him with long hair, too. After all…you and I are more alike than you think,"**_ the fem-Robin smiled mysteriously and started sauntering over to her.

Seeing her approaching her, Raven went on guard and prepared to defend herself. "Don't come near me!"

"_**Raven, Raven, Raven…why would I hurt another version of myself?" **_the fem-Robin stated, giggling more when she saw the empathic Goth stiffen.

"What did you say?" Raven gasped.

"**Here…this will say more than word can,"** the fem-Robin said and quicker than humanity possible, the deity using Robin's body moved at inhuman speed and appeared right in Raven's face, and then pressed her forehead against Raven's chakra gem.

Upon contact, Raven's mind was flooded with memories not of her own and yet were. In her mind, she saw a version of her living a carefree life, one free of restraint and guilt. She was free of Trigon's influence, beholding to no one but herself. The only major difference with this version was that this Raven had crimson red skin, black hair as dark as midnight and golden eyes. Her outfit was more exotic that hers. For one her leotard looked more like a dress that left her hips and sides almost completely bared, but holding the two flaps that covered her nether region and butt was golden belt with bony-like straps that fit over her curvy hips. Her cloak was pitch black but underneath it was a mass of moving redness. Images of eyes and gaping jaws appeared and vanished randomly in the mass.

Then she saw memories of her fighting and overthrowing her father, Trigon, becoming the ruler of his hellish dimension and trying to tame it into a more appealing realm. She had friends, loved ones…a coven with a group of people she was familiar and some she never saw before. She had a life that was going well…until she was backstabbed by Arella, her mother. The human woman had declared that she was only replacing her father and so long as she lived, Trigon's taint would continue to corrupt, even after his own death. So she tricked her daughter, making it seem all was well, and then using a combinations of spells and rituals, she trapped her daughter in a spell-prison that kept her powerless, all long enough to slip in the enchanted dagger that was fashioned by an Occult of Warlocks that could kill a being such as herself.

The memories then revealed the dagger cursed her soul to be trapped in between life and death, keeping her trapped in limbo. But they underestimated her nature. Death only freed her of the limitations of the flesh. With her spirit free of earthly bonds, she had access to new powers her mother never would have dreamed, even with the curse binding her to limbo. She could scour through the in-between that connected all the parallel dimensions, peek into them and observe whomever she chose, and she came across the Robin of this reality.

Raven then saw through Robin's eyes what he saw when he went on patrol. She experienced everything he did. She felt his heart crush complete at seeing Starfire with Speedy and the activity they were doing. Then to the call she herself made to him and then finally…what had transpired in the museum. His mind was utter chaos during that time, his guilt twisting his grasp on reality, which led him to what he finally tried to do.

That was when the memories stopped and Raven found herself in her room again, looking deep into the golden eyes…of another her.

"You're name…it's…it's Ame Raven," Raven whispered, flittering the information she obtained from the memory transfer.

"_**Yes, and as you say, my own fate was not a nice one. I admit, I was eager for a chance like your Robin provided me, but know that I do not plan on misusing his body. Once he's recovered and rested, I will relinquish control back to him and this body will revert back to its original state,"**_ Ame Raven informed.

"I…this is going to complicate so many things," Raven sighed heavily, feeling very tired. "I left the others at the museum to go find Robin. They'll learn what really happened themselves, and even if it wasn't his fault…Robin's going to be…"

"_**Like I'll let that happen to him!" **_ Ame Raven suddenly cried, her golden eyes flaring with power. _**"What he did was justice in itself. Those two scum would have only gone and killed more. They always do when they get a taste for killing."**_

"But that's not justices, not the kind Robin upheld!" Raven argued.

Ame Raven laughed coldly. _**"No, my other self, that's what the law this and many other dimensions have decreed. What was done had to be done. Taking a child's life is a crime I for one cannot abide by!"**_

Raven did have to agree with her on that point. It was unthinkable what Mammoth did to that little girl, then what they did to the mother and boasted about. It was sickening. But that wasn't for them to decide, it was up to the…

"_**Go ahead and rationalize it, Raven. I know what you're thinking, but no matter what is the right then to do. You must remember, in the end…Robin's fate is sealed by those law. And you think it will end there? No, his normal life is ruined as well. He cannot go back once more and more learn what has happened. Your Robin isn't the first I've watched. I've seen many others follow this same path, and all of them have ended in sorrow or in death. What will make this one different?" **_Ame Raven challenged.

"What makes you think it won't?" Raven retorted.

"_**Because this Robin's fate was decided…had I not interfered, he'd have already been dead. This was the first time one Robin has died so soon before the real tragedy sets its course,"**_ Ame Raven replied without hesitation. _**"Because I have defied and change his fate, it will follow a more typical outcome. That being branded a fallen hero, an outcast by all he once called friend." **_

Raven clutched the side of her temple, feeling a massive headache coming on. "Damn it, Robin…why didn't you just wait…"

"_**If you have anyone to blame, it's Starfire,"**_ Ame Raven said bluntly.

"Starfire…" Raven said with a slight snarl in her lips. "I wondered why Speedy showed up with Starfire…and that other thing." People often forgot her empathic powers. She never made too much use of them, wanting to make her friend's feel their emotions were their own. But something was strange with Starfire and Speedy's when she got close to them. It was a flicker of an emotion. It was lust.

"_**So you indeed believe everything that I've revealed?"**_ Ame Raven inquired Raven after seeing the confirmation dawning in her posture and the narrowing of her eyes.

"…Robin felt Starfire would use this situation as an excuse to break up with him while saving face. He knew he was trapped…and although I can't believe Starfire was doing this kind of thing behind his back. I can no longer judge what her actions will be. She may very well use this as a reason to be with Speedy," Raven concluded for herself. "He lost his mind because she betrayed his trust and his heart…" A flicker of red glowed in her eyes as Rage filtered its influence into her body.

Ame Raven sensed it, knowing exactly what was it was. _**"Don't let Rage use this to its advantage, Raven. It's reasonable to be angry, but we've already seen what's come from losing one's self to hate."**_

Raven forced back Rage, feeling the emoticon kicking and clawing to gain control, but was quickly quieted by the endless void that made up her mindscape. Knowledge took point and offered some suggestions, but Raven shook her head. "It's too late to clean this mess up. The other Titans along with the police will have collected any evidence. Plus, the fact that Dr. Light and Psimon got away, they can use this knowledge to their advantage…"

"_**We can easily prove that the video recordings at the museum could have been tampered with. They are villains, after all. Who will believe them?"**_ Ame Raven said.

"But Dr. Light and Psimon saw it with their own eyes. They know the truth, regardless if the evidence is tampered. They can easily spread this information out to anyone…"

A knocking suddenly alerted the two girls to another presence in the room. Whipping her head to the window of the room, Raven gasped when she saw a familiar death-skull mask with two red slashes across it. "Red X?!"

The renowned thief who had stolen Robin's black suit waved at them, letting them see in his hand a USB drive. He then said through the glass. "You may be interested in what I have…"

The thief was suddenly surrounded by black energy as the window opened and he was yanked inside. "Whoa!"

He was slammed against the floor with two angry-looking, if not extremely hot, girls glaring down at him. "Hey, hey! I come in peace!"

The flash drive was ripped from his hand by Ame Raven and she snarled some. _**"Is this what I think it is?"**_

Red X, even contained as he was became calm and relaxed on the floor. "If you mean that is the video footage that contains the proof of what really went down in the museum. It is, but there's really nothing to say that that is the only copy…."

"Why did you bring this here?" Raven demanded, her eyes blazing with dark energy.

Red X did not react at all to their intimidation. He remained quiet for a moment, then spoke. "Believe it or not…I did it to protect Robin."

"That doesn't sound like you, Red X. You wouldn't do something unless you had something to gain," Raven snarled.

Red X was quiet again.

_**"Answer her…or I'll make you talk…"**_ Ame Raven said as she slowly bent down on her knees and smiled with a mouth full of pointy teeth.

"Well, that ruined any dreams of oral sex from that pretty face," Red X uttered.

"Be serious!" Raven shouted, getting frustrated.

Red X let out an impatient sigh. "Look! I know I'm the last guy in the world any of you would expect to do something…nice. But I was there when Hive Five raided the joint. They were stumbling in on a job, wrecking the place. I had to lay low until they left, and then I saw that mom and daughter hiding out…" Red X fell quiet after that.

Both versions of Raven instantly were bombarded by a wave of intense hate and…guilt?

"I'm a selfish jerk that's look out for himself, okay? But one thing I never can condone is murdering bystanders. They could have easily been removed or taken hostage to stall for time, and I thought that's what they were going to do. That's why I left them alone…I didn't…I didn't think Mammoth or Gizmo of all people would finally stoop to killing people."

"Then why didn't you do anything afterwards?" Raven questioned.

However he was able to narrow the eye-slots of his skull mask, he did, down to almost slits. "I was going to…but of all the things that happened, I didn't expect to see Robin storming down from the ceiling and killing them! I thought he turned into a cold-hearted bastard, but then I witnessed that little mental breakdown scene he had, and I knew something wasn't right with him…and then I realized the fallout."

"So you went and hacked into the security system and took the real footage of the crime scene," Raven deduced.

"I was already in the security system, it took no time to replace the footage with a loop before all hell broke loose after I downloaded the real footage and deleted it from the main system," Red X explained, then looked down at himself. "Mind if I stand up now?"

Raven and Ame-Robin looked at each other for a moment and silently agreed to give the super thief a bit of trust.

In a split second, Red X wasn't covered in energy and he lifted his legs up and pushed off the floor with his hands and tossed himself back onto his feet. "Thanks…" he said as he started brushing dust off himself.

"Whatever, you still haven't explained why you bothered to help Robin," Raven said sternly.

"…Because this world is too damn unforgiving. And besides…" Red X grabbed the front of his suit and pulled it out, stitching some of the material. "He was able to be something I'm only copying. I'd never tell him, but I owe him for being able to be Red X. He'd never cross that line because of his silly moral, but I know even more he'd never do what he did without good reason…so until I found out if he really didn't mean to be a killer or if he had actually flipped, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt."

"And if Robin did turn psycho?" Raven said through thin lips.

Red X pointed at the USB drive. "Then that would stop him before he did anything worse. If he started to get worse and start hurting people that didn't deserve a harsh death, that would be his finish. But if he just made a mistake, well, that proof would make sure he never did it again…"

Ame-Robin stroked her chin some. _**"This is new…"**_

"What is?" Raven asked.

_**"In all the versions that I've seen of Red X, none of them has ever come forward and helped Robin like this. All of them have taunted him about it or weren't fully aware of what had transpired,"**_ Ame-Robin stated. _**"You are the first to actually show some sense of…well, honor."**_

"Stop, before I throw up in my mask and change my mind," Red X warned with a shudder.

_**"Please, you're not fooling anyone here. We can feel your emotions, so we know you're just playing the hardass to hide your true feelings,"**_ Ame-Robin retorted sharply.

Red X shrugged. "Maybe I'm just fooling around with you…hmm, speaking of fooling around." Red X looked own at Ame-Robin's bust. "Never would have dreamed of thinking a girl in a Robin suit was so hot! And what a rack…"

_**"Before you get any ideas…This is really Robin's body. I'm just using it at the moment,"**_ Ame-Robin said with a smirk. _**"So this hot body will turn back into a guy's."**_

"Wait, you mean…oh, that's not right," Red X uttered and then started rubbing at his eyes. "I will never be able to unsee what just went through my head!"

"Serves you right, you perv," Raven muttered, folding her arms across her arms.

Red X glared at her, then he started chuckling. "At least, I don't have any doubt with you." And even with the mask, anyone could tell his eyes were roaming shamelessly over hers.

Raven almost covered herself with her cloak, but that would just letting him know he had gotten to her. She merely rolled her eyes. "Men…"

Red X just chuckled. "Hey, I just appreciate the fine things in life, but I admit, Starfire's more my type…now that's a…"

Suddenly the room got really cold and he noted the two semi-calm girls were angry with him again. "What? She's a hottie, what's wrong with admitting that?"

_**"Oh, nothing. But you are right. She's soooo your type. A liar, a cheat, a low-down backstabber…"**_ Ame-Robin started to say until Red X started waving his arms.

"Whoa, easy on the names, lady…er, temporary lady," Red X exclaimed. "What's with the attitude, anyway? I thought you guys were cool, bffs and stuff."

"That was before we learned she's been fucking Speedy behind Robin's back," Raven grumbled.

Red X's eyes widened to wide saucers. "What?! Mrs. Perfect is actually cheating the Boy Wonder with Speedy? That's so unfair!"

"Tell me about it, it's just…"

"If she was gonna cheat on him…why couldn't she have done it with me!" Red X cried somewhat pathetically. "That's so unfair…"

Raven placed her hand on her face. "…I should have known."

Ame-Robin slapped Red X over the head. _**"You're missing the point, you dickhead!"**_

Red X flinched and rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, fine! We'll focus on Robin's issues, whatever. So Starfire isn't perfect and she's been seeing Speedy behind his back, this happens to a lot of guys."

"Only to typical jerks. Robin isn't like most guys. To him, he commits to everything and that includes relationships. Think like Robin would for a sec. How would you feel if you thought everything was fine, then you see your girlfriend fucking your best friend?" Raven nearly shouted, which really was just a raise in her voice; the closest someone like her ever came to sounding upset.

Red X grunted. "As much as it makes me ill, I can think like him, and yeah. I would be beyond pissed if I thought my girl was cheating on me, but since I'm me, I wouldn't blame her if she was looking around for someone else. But since this is Robin, I don't see why Starfire would be…wait. Did this just happen tonight?"

_**"Finally clued in, huh?"**_ Ame-Robin said with a bored tone.

Red X finally got all the pieces connected. "Oh man…that would explain a lot."

"_**Good, now that you're on board, let's talk about the other loose end," **_Ame-Robin said. _**"Dr. Light and Psimon. They are the only people that can reveal the truth."**_

"What about them? Wait, you think you can make them not tell anyone what really happened?" Red X uttered in disbelief.

"_**I wasn't planning on asking them…"**_ Ame-Robin said and a cruel smile appeared on her face.

Red X and Raven jerked in response. "You mean…" Raven started to say.

"Get rid of them?" Red X finished for her.

Ame-Robin's eyes glowed dangerously. _**"Oh, if you knew what I knew about those two, you wouldn't be having second thoughts. Psimon is a total Sadist. He gets his kicks torturing others and mentally scarring and breaking their minds just for the hell of it. And the Dr. Light you know isn't the real him…just a byproduct of what happened after the Justice League got done with lobotomizing him."**_

"Whoa, hold on! The Justice League lobotomized Dr. Light?" Red X said, sounding confused. "But they're like…all goodie, goodie! I didn't think they'd have the balls to do something like that."

_**"The main core group, no. But they have plenty of other members who'd do what they think is the greater good. Dr. Light was a rapist in his prime. A total sick-job. He raped Elongated Man's wife and left her mentally unstable after he was done with her. In retaliation, he got his brains scrambled,"**_ Ame-Robin revealed.

"How do you know this?" Red X wondered.

_**"I've had a lot of time to watch…a great many things,"**_ Ame-Robin said with venom on her lips.

"Okay, knowing that makes me dislike the guy even more, but still how exactly are we going to silence them?" Raven replied.

"You two don't have to do anything. I'll handle it myself. Robin's mind still needs time to repair itself, so I'll be piloting his body until then…and I will make good use of that time," Ame-Robin said and snapped her fingers.

One more change came over her body. The red, green, and yellow costume warped into a pitch back costume with red lines forming a bird and its wings cupping around her breasts. Her combat boots turned red and a red mask appeared over her eyes, bladed like the wings of a bird. _**"I always thought wearing this mask was cool…"**_ she uttered and looked down at herself as the changed continued. Underneath her cape, the yellow coloring bleed into crimson and the images of eyes and fanged mouths started snapping. _**"Much better…Now it's time to hunt down two dead men."**_


End file.
